A series of biblical readings and prayers from David L. Miller, senior pastor of St. Timothy Lutheran Church, Naperville, IL. David is the former editor of The Lutheran magazine and Director of Spiritual Formation at the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

Thursday, March 12, 2015

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiahtook place in this way. When his
mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was
found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.Her
husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public
disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly.But
just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream and said, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.She will bear a son, and you are to
name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.’

Believe the dream

Thanks, Joseph. Thanks for believing the dream. Your
dream is a gift to me. It lives in me, no
… in us.

You dreamed that God truly is the Love who conquers
the distance between our souls and the Soul of God—that we may know the
fullness of God’s loving presence.

But your dreaming is even more audacious, for you dream
that your quiet little life will serve a role in making God’s dream come true.

You believe it, and do what needs to be done to protect
Mary and the child who is the presence of God’s heart on this earth. You did
what God’s dream called you to do and because you did … we know the heart of
God.

Joseph never speaks in the Bible, not one word. He appears at this important
point in the story of Jesus birth then disappears from the scene. He is not
around when Jesus is dies on the cross. He certainly never knew of the resurrection.
By then he had finished his job likely had died long before.

He is like so many of God’s people who live quiet
lives serving their church, sharing the love that is in them through their jobs
and families, faithfully worshiping, giving to causes that serve the needy.

Their efforts, often in the background, keep Christ’s
church alive and ticking so that it can love and bless God’s world in ways they
may not ever see.

But they do it anyway because they believe God is
working … even through them … to make God’s holy dream come true.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Let the same mind be in you that wasin
Christ Jesus,who, though he was in the form
of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,

The gift of Love

Moments come when I am aware of Christ’s mind within my
own. I do not possess it, nor do I do anything to create it. It is just there,
a Great Heart within my own, filled with love, pulsing, warm and wanting to be
given away in love for this crazy world and its myriad needs.

Sometimes it comes in the presence of someone’s need.
Sometimes it is awakened by the painted sky of a spring sunrise, brush strokes
of pink and purple over a pale blue horizon.

At other times, the mind of Christ fills the heart
when one knows great love, a love that is the gift of the One is the Great Love.

Bible stories say Jesus sometimes slipped from the
crowds and his friends to be alone, to listen to the waves, to watch the moon
finish its course and to hear to the Heart within his heart. He went to pray
and know union, holy communion, with the Love that filled him, the Love he
called Abba, Father.

Oneness with the Love God is set Jesus free to give
himself to the purpose of God. He surrendered to suffering and a brutal death not
as an act of will but from the fullness of heart that comes when one knows God’s
all-surpassing love.

The mind of Christ is the gift of the Great Love. It blossoms
as we take time and make space to listen for the Heart within our own heart … and
know the Love who holds us.

Sunday, March 08, 2015

But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, ‘You are my God.’
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.

Always, with hope

I saw Bette today, and I blessed her but not nearly as
much as she blessed me.

She will soon pass into your arms, Loving Mystery. Blessing
her was not hard, for she is dying the same way she has lived—with grace and great
love for her family and friends.

She opens her arms to receive me, filled with loving gratitude
for the beauty of life and the rich goodness of all she has received in her 87
years.

She knows what Jesus knew as he faced the end of his
ministry—her days and years, moments and final hours rest … always … in the
hands of grace immeasurable, love unspeakable, beauty indescribable.

We sing Amazing
Grace and say the Lord’s Prayer, and she receives the blessed sacrament one
more time. Marking her head with the sign of the cross, I remind her … one more
time … that she is yours, Holy One … in life and death.

All is well, even here as she lies in the bed from
which she will soon pass into your arms. She knows your loving face has shined
on her even in her most difficult moments and years … and always will.

The grace she has received fills her with grace even
now.

Blessed are your saints, Loving God. They teach us how
to live--always with hope, knowing … our times are in the hands of a Love
greater than we know.